Environmental Protection Authority
What is RSS?
Jun 2010Cabinet has now made decisions on an expanded Environmental Protection Authority. Legislation is to be introduced this year to establish an EPA that will undertake:
- the current functions of the Environmental Risk Management Authority (“ERMA”), these relate to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1986 (“HSNO”);
- the current functions of the EPA within the Ministry for the Environment i.e. managing applications that are 'called-in' because they are a matter of national importance;
- the administration of the Emissions Trading Scheme, with the exception of Forestry that will continue to be regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry;
- the current functions of the Ministry of Economic Development for matters relating to HSNO; advice on environmental impact assessments for Antarctica; and
- future functions relating to proposed legislation to regulate New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone if legislation regulating the EEZ is passed. Cabinet is still making decisions on the EEZ.
The aim is for the new organisation to be operational by 1 July 2011. Not all functions will be transferred for the July start date, the ETS functions will not be transferred until October and the EEZ functions are dependent on the enactment of new legislation. The EPA will be a Crown Agent separated from the Minister by a governance board. The governance board will consist of 6 - 8 people, one of whom must have knowledge of tikanga Maori.
Both ERMA and the current EPA will be disestablished and merged into the new EPA. The cabinet paper estimates that approximately 50 staff will transfer from the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Development. This is in addition to the 90 staff at ERMA.
One of the stated aims of the EPA given in the cabinet paper is for the EPA "to address an implementation gap at the national level in the regulation of natural and physical resources under the RMA". It is not clear how the EPA will achieve this beyond providing and facilitating technical advice. One of the EPA's non-statutory roles is to monitor the implementation of national environmental standards but there is no role for the EPA if the NES is not being appropriately implemented. Consequently the EPA’s focus is likely to be on its consenting administration functions rather than implementation of standards.
Other work that the Minister has recently signalled includes establishing an Environmental Reporting Act that would require 5 yearly state of the environment reports from an independent group. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is being considered for this independent reporting role.
Prepared by Rachel Brooking
